What To Carry To The Beach In India – Beach Essentials - Packing List

I absolutely love spending a day at the beach, but without meaning any disrespect, we have to accept that going to the beach in India means taking into account several things. Beaches in India are very unlike the ones we experience abroad, and thus a little prep is required when you visit one. So, if you are planning a beach trip, here are things you should carry or take into account.

What to wear

Finding a secluded beach where you can actually sport a bikini is not always feasible. Thus, you have two options – wear a conservative swim suit with a sarong or wear a mini skirt (avoid flowy) and crop top with bikini bottom.

The swim suit and sarong is beach appropriate, won’t draw too much attention and would be easier to dry quickly later. The mini skirt and crop top is again super beach appropriate, the bikini bottom inside the skirt would again dry quickly. 

Here are some options which are both, conservative and cute:

Now that we have covered the clothing, let’s more other aspects

Mat: This could be anything that you can get to sit on later. If the beach you are going to has shacks, then they would have recliners but you’ll have to order something to avail the services. If you carry you own mat, you have your space for yourself without sand getting into difficult spaces. While there are several cute beach mats available, I from personal experience, prefer the good old mats we used to use in the house back in the day.

Two reasons for this – its either cane or plastic mat making it super easy to clean and the size is good making it comfortable for people to sit or lounge on.

Sunscreen and Talc: Well this is self explanatory; you don’t want to tan as much, right? Carry a nice sunscreen, I find the Lotus one affordable and efficient. Also, if you do get sun burnt, or are in a mood to pamper your skin afterwards, you can opt for some Aloe Vera gel. Obviously, fresh Aloe Vera gel straight from the plant is preferable, but if that’s not available, you can opt for a nice pure Aloe gel product. Talc comes in handy to dust off sand, just put some talc on your body and the sand would fall right off. Also, the talc comes in handy in case of chafing.

Cloth and Plastic Bags: A cloth tote bag is ideal for the beach, you can store all your things in it and keep them secure in one place. The plastic bag helps in storing wet clothes. Since it is plastic, it would be ideal to have a bag that you can reuse.

Pee Funnel: Being in the water for a long time sure does make one want to use the facilities. But the cleanliness and hygiene could be questionable, thus it is always safer to use a pee funnel or use an Indian style washroom where you can squat.